New Hanover wife, mother, faces jail for having sex with boy, 15

NORRISTOWN — Weeping as she was handcuffed, a 42-year-old New Hanover housewife is headed to jail after admitting to having sex with a 15-year-old boy, who told authorities there were more than 40 sexual encounters over the course of a year.

Carolyn P. Supplee, of the 600 block of Jennifer Lane, was sentenced to 11˝ to 23 months in the county jail, to be followed by three years’ probation, on felony charges of statutory sexual assault and corruption of a minor in connection with incidents that occurred between September 2011 and September 2012 in New Hanover and other locations.

“It’s just wrong,” Judge Steven T. O’Neill scolded Supplee for taking advantage of the boy and for violating the trust of the boy’s parents. “It’s a parental nightmare when something happens to your child, especially by someone you trust.”

Using a tissue to dab tears from her eyes, Supplee, who was supported in court by her husband and children and several of her children’s friends, apologized to the victim’s mother and grandmother who were in court.

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“I know what I did was wrong. Words can’t ever describe how sorry I am for everybody I hurt. I am truly sorry for my actions,” said Supplee, adding she is in recovery and involved in “intensive therapy” and counseling.

Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Abidiwan-Lupo sought a jail sentence against Supplee, arguing she violated the trust of the victim’s parents by sexually abusing their son while the boy was in her company.

“Secondly, the victim himself trusted this woman to look out for his best interests and she didn’t. She had a moral duty and a legal obligation to make sure that she did not corrupt the morals of a minor. Instead, she took advantage of her position of authority for her own sexual gratification,” Abidiwan-Lupo said.

“As an adult she knows the significance this type of relationship would have on a very young individual. Knowing the impact, knowing what it would do to him, she still decided to do this for her own gratification,” Abidiwan-Lupo added.

The boy’s mother and grandmother each testified that Supplee’s conduct created havoc for their family as well as Supplee’s.

“It impacted our whole family. As a mother you protect your kids and trust other people,” said the boy’s mother, adding it’s difficult knowing she couldn’t protect her son from Supplee.

“To have a child violated by an adult, physically and mentally, is inexcusable,” the victim’s grandmother, choking back tears, added. “The life of a child has been changed forever.”

The women, expressing they are a loving and caring family that doesn’t hold grudges, indicated they didn’t want to see Supplee go to a state prison. They acknowledged that Supplee, through her conduct, also caused her own family embarrassment and suffering.

An evaluation by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offender Assessment Board determined Supplee did not meet criteria under the state’s Megan’s Law to be classified as a sexually violent predator. However, Supplee will have to report her address to state police for 15 years after she’s paroled.

The judge ordered Supplee, who was 41 years old at the time she had the sexual contact with the boy, to have no contact with the victim or his family as a condition of the sentence.

“She deeply regrets having done what she did,” defense lawyer George Henry Newman said on behalf of Supplee.

An investigation began about 4:36 p.m. Sept. 4, 2012, when authorities received a report of a suspicious vehicle parked on Reifsnyder Road near Swamp Creek Park, according to the arrest affidavit filed by New Hanover Police Officer Michael Salvo. The reporting party indicated the occupants of the vehicle appeared to be having sex.

Responding officers observed a silver 2009 Hyundai Elantra parked on the shoulder of the road. Court documents indicate Salvo spoke with the occupants of the vehicle, the driver a teen boy and the passenger identified as Supplee, and asked why they were parked. The teen stated, “We were just talking,” according to the arrest affidavit.

Salvo indicated in court documents that he noticed the teen’s pants zipper “partially unzipped, and I observed him zip up his pants as he walked to the rear of the vehicle.” Salvo said the teen repeated that he and Supplee were “just talking” after going for a walk in the park.

The teenager also told Salvo that his parents were aware of his location, and he provided contact information for his residence. Police tried to contact the teen’s parents, but weren’t immediately able to reach them, court papers indicate.

About an hour after police spoke with the teen and Supplee, the teen’s mother called police, indicating she was unaware her son was at Swamp Creek Park with Supplee, according to the affidavit. Police asked the teen’s mother to come to the police station, and she arrived there with her son and her husband roughly three hours later.

The teenager voluntarily spoke to police about his relationship with Supplee, divulging that the two had engaged in sexual activity on more than “forty occasions over the course of the past year,” police indicated in the arrest affidavit. The teenager described having a sexual relationship with Supplee for “about one year,” well before he reached his 16th birthday, Salvo alleged.

Additionally, the teen told police that Supplee supplied him with marijuana and they had used the drug together on “multiple occasions,” including at Swamp Creek Park in New Hanover, according to the arrest affidavit.

“What this case showed was that the defendant ended up grooming the victim from a young age, provided him drugs and alcohol, and after doing so, she took advantage of his youth to sexually abuse him,” Abidiwan-Lupo alleged.